Blue-rock-throwing machine.



A. SCHMIDT.

BLUE ROCK THROWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED APR. 19, I9!!- Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR. A N U SFHM/o 7 /6dA/ i BY I ATTORNEY.

A. SCHMIDT. BLUE ROCK- THROWI NG MACHINE. APPLICATKON FILED APR. l9. I911.

1 ,280,089 Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

3 $HEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR. ARND SCHMIDT A. SCHMIDT.

BLUE ROCK THROWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I9. 1911.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

3 SHEETS SHEEI 3.

TOR NE Y ARNO SCHMIDT, 0F WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

BLUE-ROCK-THROWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

Application filed April 19, 1917. Serial No. 163,161.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARNO SCHMIDT, a citizen of the Empire of Germany, residing at Watsonville, in the county of Santa Cruz, State of California, have invented a new and useful Blue-Rock-Throwing Machine, of which the following is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention relates to a machine for throwing blue rocks for target practice, an object of which is to produce a machine capable of being operated from the shooting stand a number of times without replenishing the magazine in which the blue rocks are placed.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the targets are small bluish terra cotta disks, or plates, which are thrown up in the air and which are broken when a hit is made, the shooter thus becoming an adept in shooting at a moving target.

In the present invention a magazine is provided which will hold a large number of the disks which are automatically fed one by one to the machine after each throw has been made.

The machine is operated from a point near the shooter thereby doing away with danger to the operator, and at the same time a lever is provided for shifting the plane of throw, thereby making it more diflicult to hit the targets.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the machine will be automatically set ready for another throw immediately after releasing the lever for the previous throw.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware that there may be many modifications thereof.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the complete machine, the operating levers being shown close up, although in practice it will be understood that said levers are on a platform, a distance of from 30 yards to yards away from the throwing machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the complete machine and levers for the operation thereof, the shock springs being removed for purposes of illustration.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the complete machlne.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the throwing ing to a suitable fixed platform at a distance from the platform 3 on which the operating lovers 4 and 5 are mounted.

A shaft (Sextends into the bearing 1 and it has a bearing plate 7 which supports the machine, a fixed arm 8 extending therefrom for changing the direction of throw of the projectiles.

The throwing apparatus is pivotally mounted on a bolt 9 in a head 6' on the top of the shaft 6, said head 6 also having a slot 10 for adjusting the position of the locking bolt 11 and thereby giving one adjustment of the apparatus. a

The throwing apparatus is mounted on a frame having a horizontal member 12, double vertical members 13, and a pair of short horizontal members 14 through which the locking bolt 11 passes. The members 13 and 14 are right and left duplicates (see Fig. 3) and are clamped on the head 6 by means of the bolts 9 and ll, so that they form a rigid adjustable support for the movable parts of the apparatus. At the outer end of arm 12 there is a bearing for the throwing stub shaft 17, bolts 15, 16 being used to adjust the bearing snugly on the stub shaft. This shaft has an operating arm 18 on its lower end and a throwing arm 19 on its upper end, the latter having a pan 20 on which the blue rocks fall as they are released from the feeding mechanism.

A nut 21 holds the shaft 17 in its roper position, and a spring 22 surroun 5 said shaft and normally restores the arm 191m.

the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, whereupon a lug 23 on the throwing arm will engage a slidahlc latch 24 on the frame of the machine and lock the arm in said position ready for another throw.

A spiral spring 25 is connected with the slide 24 and with the stud 27, said spring operating to restore the latch to the position shown in Fig. 1, and also to release said slide when the projecting pin 27 moves forward as the lever 4 is operated.

The lever 4 is mounted on platform 3 at a distance from the frame and is connected by means of a rod 28 with an adjusting shackle 29. The shackle 29 is connected by the link 30 to spring 31 and to the lever 32, which latter is pivoted at 34 to the under side of the member 12 near the members 13. An upwardly extending arm 33 is connected with the pin 34 carrying the arm 32, and a slotted link 35 connects the arm and lever 36.

The lever 36 is pivotally connected with the frame 12 at its lower end and it has a pin 37 which passes through the slot in the link 35 and on which it slides, said link moving the lever near the end of its stroke enough to release another blue rock, as will be presently explained.

'When the link 35 moves forward, the lever 27 also moves forward pushing the pin 27 and slide 26 forward until the latch 23 has been released, and after the arm has been released the spring 25 will restore the latch to the proper position on the release of the lever 4.

On the right hand side of the frame member 12 (see Fig. 3) there is a post 38 for the support of the feeding apparatus. This post 38 has a lateral extension at 39, which is integral with the ring 40. The ring 40 has bearings 41, 42 for the support of pins 45, 46, which pins carry the two crescent like escapement members 43, 44.

Lever arms 47, 48 are connected with the stub shafts 45, 46 for the oscillation of the arms 43, 44, a link 49 holding said arms, 47, 48 in a fixed relative position.

Depending below the arm 47 is a pin 49, which has a roller 50 thereon in the open fork 51 at the top of the lever 36.

The arms 43, 44 are are shaped and have step plates 52 to 55 at their ends, which plates are so positioned with respect to each other that one blue rock will be dropped down on the pan 20 each time the arm 43, 44 are oscillated. The ring 41 supports four rods 56 which form guides for a pile of a considerable number of blue rocks so they will be in a position to be fed one at a time to the throwing apparatus.

In order to vary the direction in which the projectiles are to be thrown, the arm 8 is connected to a short link 57 in turn connected; to a short arm58 of a double bell crank having longer arm 59, (i0, and pivoted on a pin (31. Another lever 62 is also pivotally mounted on the pin 61, and it is connected with the lovers 59, (30, by means of substantially equal shock springs 63, 64, which offer sufficient resistance to operate the machine, while at thcsame time they do not hold the throwing arm rigid, and thereby prevent injury to the machine.

The lever 5 is connected by the rod 65 to the adjusting shackle 66 which pivotally carries link 67 connected to arm 62. A handle (58 operates a latch 69 which takes in the notches of a segment 70 to hold the throwing apparatus in a given position when once adjusted (see Fig. 2).

1 The operation of the apparatus is as fol- Assuming a supply of the blue rocks to have been placed over the feed arms and be tween four rods 56, the lever 5 is operated to set the frame in a given adjustment. (Only two of the rods are shown full height).

The normal position of the machine at that moment is then illustrated in Fig. 1 with the arm retracted and latched back, the spring 22 causing it to assume that position.

The spring 31 is a very heavy spring and will then be placed under tension by the operation of the lever 4, whereupon the lever 32 will be operated to release the latch 24 as soon as the spring 31 has been sufliciently extended.

As soon as the latch 23 has been released, the heavy tension on the spring 31 will cause the arm 19 to fly outwardly with the blue rock thereon, and as the side of the arm in contact with the blue rock has a rubber friction strip 19 it will cause the blue rock to rotate rapidly as it leaves the arm.

Upon the release of the pull on the lever 4, the spring 22 will restore the arm to the starting position, and the latch will be reset for another throw, while as the feed arms are oscillated another disk will be dropped on the pan 20.

The springs 63, 64 act as recoil bumpers for the throwing arm when in its outward position.

The feeder may be filled with blue rock disks as often as necessary, but as long as there are any disks in the feeder the machine may be operated from the shooting stand.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows, express reservations being made of permissible modifications 1. In a throwing machine, a frame, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a glven position when the machine is being operated,a throwing arm, means to feed projectiles to said arm, means to rotate said arm through a portion of a circle to drive a projectile therefrom, and means to automatically reset said arm.

2. In a throwing machine, a supporting frame, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a given position when the machine is being operated, means to shift. the position of said frame at will, a throwing arm, means to feed projectiles to said arm, means to rotate the arm through a portion of a circle to drive the projectile therefrom, and means to automatically reset the arm to deliver another projectile.

3. In a throwing machine, a frame, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a given position when the machine is being operated, a throwin arm pivoted therein, means to feed proj ectiles to the arm, means to rotate the arm through a portion of a circle to drive a rojectile therefrom, means to vary the position of the frame, and operating levers at a distance for effecting the latter two operations,

t. In a throwlng machine, a frame, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a given position when the machine is being operated, a throwing arm pivoted therein, means to rotate said arm through a portion of a circle to drive a projectile there from, means to feed the projectiles successively to the arm, and means to reset the arm after each operation thereof.

5. A throwing machine comprising the combination of a frame, a pivoted throwing arm carried thereby, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a given p0- sition when the machine is being operated, a lever for operatin the throwing arm, means to feed the projectile upon the throwing arm upon each operation thereof, and a lever for shifting the position of the frame to change the direction of travel of the projectile at will,

6. A throwing machine comprising a frame, shock springs adapted to resiliently hold the frame in a given position when the machine is being operated, a throwing arm carried thereb mechanical means for feeding the projectlles to the throwing arm one a time, a lever for operating the'throwing arm and a spring1 for resetting the throwing arm with eac operation thereof.

7. A throwing machine comprising a frame, a throwin arm pivotall supported thereby, a lever or o crating t e throwing arm, a lever for shifting the position of the frame, and. a pair of springs carried by the frame to permit a slight movement therwf after the projectile is thrown.

8. A throwing machine comprising the combination of a frame, a throwing arm pivotally connected therewith, a lever for operating the throwing arm having a spring interposed between it and the throwing arm, a latch adapted to be released by the lever when said spring has been sufficiently charged, another spring to return the throwing arm to a positlon behind the latch after the arm has been operated, means at a distance from the machine to alter its direction of throw at will, and means to resiliently hold the frame in a given position.

9. A throwing machine comprising the combination with a frame of a throwin arm carried thereby, means to operate sai throwing arm at a distance from the frame, mechanical means for feeding the projecq tiles to the throwing arm one at a time upon each operation thereof, distant means for shifting the position of the frame to vary the line of travelof the projectiles and a pair of oppositely acting shock springs to hold the frame resiliently in a given position.

10. A throwing machine comprising the combination of a frame, a throwing arm pivotally connected therewith, and having a strip of friction material extending along the same, a lever for operating the throwing arm at a distance therefrom, a sprin for resetting the throwing arm to its initifi position after each. movement thereof, and. means for feedin the projectiles one at a time to the throwing arm after it has been; set.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of April A. D. 1917.

ARNO SCHIHDT.

copies or this patent may be obtained for he cent: each, by addreuin: the commissioner of 2mm, wuhlngton, D. 0." 

